Many in-ground, as well as above-the-ground types of swimming pools, presently are in use in which adjacent side and/or end walls are disposed at an angle, such as a right angle, to each other. The adjacent walls are substantially vertical and are connected together at a relatively sharp angle by various means. It is conventional when applying a waterproof liner sheet to the sidewalls and/or bottom of the pool to drape it over the inner surfaces of the sides and/or end walls by suspending it downwardly along the walls from the upper edges thereof. At the sharp corners, the liner sheet is disposed within the sharply angled corner and this not infrequently produces a tendency for the liner to crack, split or otherwise be damaged in the vicinity of said sharp corner. This is due particularly to the formation of an equally sharp angle directly in the liner sheet incident to it being pressed firmly against the wall surfaces at said corner by the water contained in the pool.
Some attempts have been made heretofore to correct the undesirable situation referred to above. One such attempt is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,532, to Lindsey et al, dated June 21, 1966. In this patent, rather simple type 45.degree. fillets or fillet strips or members extend between the adjacent ends of a pair of sidewalls and/or a sidewall and an end wall for disposition of the liner material thereagainst. However, the fillet is rigid and the operative surface thereof is flat, whereby an angle of substantially 135.degree. is formed in the liner sheet at opposite edges of the fillet member. Such angle is also subject to eventual cracking or splitting. The rigidity of the fillet also prevents any conformity thereof to any uneven surface areas in the pool walls. Therefore, it is the principal purpose of the invention to minimize and prevent any such tendency for the liner sheet to crack, split, or otherwise be damaged by providing special radius means in the corners of a swimming pool, details of which are set forth below.
Various types of fillet structure currently are in use which are of an exterior nature, such as to provide exterior corners of furniture and the like but these do not appreciate or solve the problems with which the present invention is concerned.